For example, for an unborn baby with an arrhythmia, we could give anti-arrhythmia medications to the mother during pregnancy. Some heart problems may be able to be treated before the baby is born. These test results also help us prepare how to care for the baby right after birth. The information from the fetal echo can influence the choice of where your baby should be born (high-risk obstetric center or a community facility). Some heart problems may need attention right away after you deliver your baby. Information about fetal heart problems will be sent to your obstetrician and the pediatrician or neonatologists who would likely see your baby immediately following birth. How Will Information From the Test Be Used? We can use it to assess heart function and identify normal or abnormal cardiac rhythms. What Can Be Learned from a Fetal Echocardiogram?Ī thorough fetal echo shows us the complete anatomy of the fetal heart. However, in certain high-risk pregnancies, it is possible to complete fetal echoes as early as 12-14 weeks’ gestation. But they can be performed any time after this period.īefore 18 weeks of pregnancy, the small size of the fetus makes it more difficult to image the heart. It is ideal for fetal echoes to be performed between 18-24 weeks' gestation (about mid-pregnancy). At What Stage of Pregnancy Should a Fetal Echo be Performed? If abnormal, we will share the results with you immediately after the fetal echo is complete. The test is done within our outpatient pediatric cardiology clinics. These heart specialists have advanced training in fetal imaging and cardiac ultrasound. A pediatric cardiologist interprets the study. You do not need to stay overnight for this test.Īt Cincinnati Children's, a registered fetal sonographer does the echo. You do not need to make any special preparations before your fetal echo. This is sometimes uncomfortable for moms in late pregnancy. The pregnant mother must lie flat or on her side. It is done like a regular obstetrical ultrasound. Irregularities in the fetal heartbeat (called arrhythmias)Ī fetal echo is painless.Other fetal malformations seen on a obstetric ultrasound. Suspected chromosomal abnormalities on prenatal genetic testing, (genetic testing before birth).(This is heart disease that is present at birth.) Parent or another child born with a congenital heart defect.Concern for a heart defect on obstetric ultrasound.Why Would I Need a Fetal Echocardiogram?Ī fetal echocardiogram is typically done when there is concern that the baby may have or is at higher risk to have heart disease.Ĭommon reasons for performing a fetal echo include: It lets doctors view the heart, its blood vessels and the blood flow through the vessels and the heart’s four chambers. The test creates real-time, moving images of the fetal heart. This is similar to how an obstetric ultrasound is done. Fetal echo is the shortened term you will most often hear used for this test.ĭuring a fetal echo, an ultrasound probe is used to transmit and receive sound waves.A fetal echocardiogram is the test itself.Fetal echocardiography means the use of ultrasound to look at the structures and function of the heart.Fetal echocardiography is a type of imaging study that allows doctors to view the heart of an unborn baby before birth.
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